Gift
by Pancakechef
Summary: Adam Malkovich gives Samus Aran the ultimate gift. Nothing dirty.


Disclaimer: This doesn't belong to me, property of Nintendo.

Like everything I've ever written, this is a result of a half-formed idea and insomnia. I'm planning to finish this, because it should only be two chapters long. Any reviews and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, seeing as this is a very rough draft that hasn't been beta'd. Oh, also, shout out to G3rain1, his great story One Girl was the kinda inspiration for this one. I'll stop babbling now though.

--

"Marines, in approximately one hour we will be forcefully docking with a hostile pirate vessel."

A tall, well built man outfitted in the uniform of a Galactic Federation Capitan softly paced the tightly packed corridors of the assault vessel. His powerful, yet subdued voice commanded the attention of the GF marines at his command.

"Now, as most of you know, the Galactic Federation likes to keep the galaxy safe without raising taxes, which is why this operation is being undertaken with only one troop."

A few of the marines chuckled from within their armor, but the vessel soon returned to silence under the lion-like pacing of the commanding officer.

"However, the GF seems to have realized their lack of rationality, and has provided us with a… cheaper, but supposedly equivalent substitute to reinforcements."

At this time, the marines' attention turned to an armored figure that stood near the helm of the ship. They found the hired help's armor almost laughable. Gold, and red, with what seemed to be a lighted "L" insignia on the chest plate. If anything, the random lights on the armor would only serve to make him an easy target for the pirates. Better him than they, they thought. Again, a few chuckled. The Capitan waited for the noise to die down before beginning to speak again.

"While I know that our hired help's outward appearance may be… eccentric, I assure you that my superiors have promised me that he is one of the best in his field. Whether his field is acting as a shield or being adequate replacement for an entire troop of marines will be left for us to find out."

More chuckles broke out, though some were embarrassed to laugh so outwardly in the face of the stoic figure who had been hired to assist them. Besides, it would be rude to laugh at a man who was so obviously compensating for… shortcomings with a huge cannon.

The Capitan started back for the cockpit of the vessel. Before he entered, his voice rang out through the ship.

"We will be docking with the vessel within 45 minutes."

The armored help followed him, and the door to the cockpit closed behind the two. The vessel was immediately filled with conversation.

--

"You're very good at raising troop morale," Samus Aran observed from her seat in the cockpit of the ship.

"Yes," Adom Malkovich responded, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "I find that giving them a good laugh before I send them into hell generally makes them like me better."

The ship was still on autopilot, and he put his armor on as Samus seemingly stared out the window. It was hard to tell exactly where she was staring with the visor, but Malkovich could see the occasional glint of an eye as the lights from the instruments flashed on her visor. Malkovich left his helmet off, and moved over to the pilot's seat.

"I want you to know that regardless of any bounties you may have successfully completed in the past that you are still under my command. You are not above any of my marines. You are merely a replacement, and I will treat you as such. You will not do anything to endanger the safety of my marines. Any objections, Lady? "

"No sir" Samus quietly responded. Malkovich was one of the few people who knew she was female, despite the fact that he had never seen her without her armor, and was the only person who could make the statement "Lady" sound dignified instead of patronizing. She still wasn't exactly sure how he had discovered her gender, but she figured it was a minute detail, and instead, focused her mind on the task ahead. They rode out the next forty minutes in silence, while faint sounds from the marines filtered through the door. The space pirate vessel that they had been ordered to take out had been a particular nuisance to the Federation lately. Normally it would be ridiculous to track such a vessel, but these pirates liked leaving their mark, and were sloppy when it came to covering their tracks. Samus had taken the job only because she was short on money, and the bounty would be paid immediately after the mission; normally, she hated working in any type of group. Marines, no matter how well trained, would do little more than slow her down, and she would have to cover them as well as herself. The only other positive she saw in the mission was the opportunity to hunt pirates, and to perhaps, encounter and exact revenge upon the being that had orphaned her.

As the ship neared the location of the pirate vessel, Commander Malkovich flipped the intercom switch: "Boys, we are about to near the Pirate vessel. Fasten your seatbelts." What might have sounded like a sardonic comment from any other man was instead transformed into a reassuring warning by Malkovich's deliberate, powerful voice. He put on his helmet, and piloted the ship towards the pirate vessel. The lack of enemy fire irked him. A few random turret shots bounced off the shields of the ship, but there were no patrolling fighters. He figured that these Space Pirates were particularly careless: otherwise, they wouldn't be able to track the vessel. The docking itself was particularly easy: normally, the marines exited the ship fighting.

Malkovich exited the ship on high alert. He signaled his troops to advance and follow him, and he let Samus cover the rear flank. Their mission was simply to exterminate, destroy, and get out. He didn't want to do anything to put his troops in danger on a mission that was mostly for show. He opened the first door, scanned the room, took out a turret with a well placed shot, and signaled to his troops to advance. The faint clanking of metal on metal and the clicking of boots was the only sound that filled the hallways. Something was off, and as the troop advanced through the pirate vessel, he could sense that his marines were starting to feel it too. Malkovich opened the next door, and before he had time to take it in, he was blown backwards by the force of a blast. Fire opened from all sides, and Malkovich cursed himself for walking into a trap that he had seen coming.


End file.
